A Fisherman, A Temple, and A Priest

So, let me ask you a question.  What do you think about when I use the term, “evil behavior?”  Does it match the list Peter gives?

So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. (1 Peter 2:1 NLT)

Lying, play-acting, being jealous, and saying mean things would have not topped my list.  This is one of the “ah-ha” moments for me when I first started pulling together the Scriptures for the “Bad Box” class I teach.  My list of bad and good simply did not match God’s list.  What God is calling “evil behavior,” I considered normal life for us today.

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. (1 Peter 2:2-3 NLT)

But this is a part of our growth-process.  We must start seeing evil and good in the same way God sees it.  Until we do, God’s Kingdom will not come.  His Will will not be done on earth in the same way it is in heaven.  Our growth and Kingdom living begins by looking at things through the eyes of our Heavenly King.

You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What's more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. (1 Peter 2:4-5 NLT)

In the Old Covenant days, no one could approach the throne of our King except the High Priest.  This priest went through an extensive cleansing ritual to cleanse himself from sin and to cleanse the community from sin.  Then he was able to enter the Most Holy Place in the Temple to be in the presence of our King.

As the Scriptures say, "I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced." Yes, you who trust Him recognize the honor God has given Him. But for those who reject Him, "The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone." And, "He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they do not obey God's word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. (1 Peter 2:6-8 NLT)

Jesus is the cornerstone (first stone that sets the standard for the rest) of a new Temple being built by God.  We are living stones being put in place next to Jesus.  The result is that we are a living Temple where God dwells.  Not only does God take up residence in us as individuals, but God is worshipped as we are together in community with one another, praising Him.  We are the place where God dwells, if we are in Christ Jesus.  If we reject the cornerstone, though, we are not a part of God’s temple.

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 NLT)

Not only are we the building that God is putting together stone by stone.  We are the priest who enters into the very presence of God.  The High Priest would cleanse himself through the blood of a bull or goat.  We cleanse ourselves by the blood of the pure spotless lamb: Jesus.

"Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God's people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God's mercy." (1 Peter 2:10 NLT)

A fisherman recognized that he was a part of God’s temple and a priest.  How about you?  Are you a part of God’s temple?  Are you a priest?  Do you identify yourself as one of God’s people?